Skinny Love
by Obito-Wan Kenobi
Summary: Skinny love: when two people love each other but are too shy to admit it, but they still show it. AU high school fanfiction.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Hi everyone! This is my first attempt to write an AU multi-chapter fanfiction and a different pairing for this fandom so please bear with me :D This chapter is centered on Hinata first. Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Chapter One

The bell rang, and students quickly scrambled into their classrooms. Hinata watched this sight from her seat by the window with her cheek on her palm. She huffed out a sad sigh at the realization that she didn't have any friends on the first day of her second year in high school. It didn't bother Hinata that much, but she wished she had at least one friend she could talk to and ask about their vacation like everybody else. She was sure that she wouldn't feel as lonely and sad as she was now.

She frowned to herself. _I shouldn't feel like this on the first day of school. Come on, be positive, Hinata! _She gently slapped both of her cheeks two times. It was a habit of hers to snap out of her misery.

The door opened and came in Hatake-sensei. She heard a couple of playful giggles from the girls on her right when he came in to the room. She agreed that Hatake-sensei was very good-looking, but she really couldn't understand why many girls at her school were madly in love with him.

"Okay, settle down, everyone," he said very lazily in front of the classroom.

"Sensei, did you cut your hair?" a girl asked, full of excitement.

Hinata's cheek sank deeper into her palm. It was always like that when it came to Hatake-sensei. Ever since her first year in high school, girls would swoon over him even during his classes. Now, she felt like she was cursed to have Hatake-sensei as her homeroom teacher.

Hatake-sensei seemed to be really happy that the girl noticed. "Why, yes, I did! Thank you for noticing." He cleared his throat before getting serious. "Now, I'm your homeroom teacher throughout your second year. Sorry to disappoint you."

Hinata ignored the next words he said. She looked out of the window into the clear blue sky. The wind must have seemed nice judging by the swaying of the trees. She smiled to herself. She went on a lovely trip to Kyoto with her younger sister and cousin during the vacation. She could still remember the sound of the fireworks shooting through the dark night winter sky, and how happy she felt.

"Hyuga Hinata?"

She straightened up in her seat and raised her hand politely when Hatake-sensei called for the attendance roll.

"We expect a lot from you this year, Hinata," he said with a warm smile.

She could feel her cheeks redden. "Yes, sensei," she said softly.

Of course, all of the teachers would expect a lot of accomplishments from her since she was at the top of the class on her first year in high school. She appreciated that her teachers acknowledged her hardwork, but Hatake-sensei shouldn't have said that to her in front of everyone.

She could feel the hateful stares coming from Hatake-sensei's fans, and she could hear them whispering about her.

"Teacher's pet."

She stared into the distance out of the window to hide her blushing cheeks.

* * *

When the bell rang for lunch break, Hinata walked out of her classroom and went to where her cousin was. She saw Neji sitting on his table alone as he took a bite on the bento she had made earlier that day for him. She approached him slowly and stood next to his desk. He looked up from his lunch and met her eyes.

"Hinata?"

"S-sorry for interrupting your lunch, Neji-nii-san," she began with a small smile, "I came here to tell you that I would be staying here for a while after dismissal because I will clean the classroom along with others, so you don't have to wait for me later."

"I will wait for you until you're done, Hinata." He said.

"No, you don't have to do that." She grinned awkwardly.

"I _will _wait for you."

From the look on his face, he was serious about wanting to wait for her. She was grateful that he wanted to do so himself, but she wanted to prove to him that she would be all right by herself. She some times wished that he wouldn't treat her like a child.

"O-okay. Thank you, nii-san." Her grin turned into an even more awkward smile.

He smiled back. "Have you made any friends yet?"

"No," she shook her head, still smiling.

His smiling face turned into a serious one as he looked past her fake smile. He felt sorry for his cousin that she still hadn't made any friends even though she was already in her second year. He knew how lonely she was every time he saw her facial expression changes whenever they were near school.

"You can have lunch with me, Hinata," he said.

"No, thank you," she politely rejected his offer. "I'm fine with being alone in the classroom."

Before he could say anything back, she waved her hand at him, saying that she would see him later, as she walked out of his classroom.

_I'm fine with being alone in the classroom. _She bit the insides of her cheeks. _Idiot._

She kept her eyes down to the floor as she made her way back to her classroom, and she bumped her shoulders into someone. Her cheeks immediately flushed red and her eyes looked up to meet the person she just bumped.

"Sorry!" she said as she quickly walked back to her classroom.

She noticed his messy dyed red hair. Her cheeks flushed even a deeper shade of red at the realization that he was from her classroom. She hoped that he would neither talk badly of her nor hurt her (for that matter).

* * *

Hinata was glad to be finally back at home after a long day at school. It was the first day and already did she receive a stack of homework's from teachers. She untucked her blouse from her skirt before lying down flat on her stomach on her comfortable bed. She stared blankly at the wall of her bedroom and released a deep sigh. She was really tired—both physically and mentally—and it was only the first day of school.

There was a knock on the door. Before she could get out of bed and answer, the door opened and there stood her little sister holding her phone.

"Nee-chan, dad just called and he told me that he will be home late," said Hanabi.

"Okay, thank you, Hanabi," Hinata smiled at her younger sister gratefully as she sat on the edge of her bed. "I'll cook us something later. Let me rest for a while."

"Okay." Hanabi closed the door.

Hinata bowed her head down. Her chest ached to breathe normally. She couldn't understand how she could feel so sad on such a wonderful day. She buried her face in her palms and sobbed without shedding any tears despite how badly she wanted to cry. She took deep breaths before slapping both her cheeks twice.

_Get a grip on yourself._

She looked around the room from where she sat before standing up to have a quick shower to clear her head.

She stared down at the tiled floor as fat drops of water sprayed down to her hair and body. She took deep breaths and mentally told herself that she could go through this as always. She would make at least one friend this year. She kept on telling these to herself over and over again until she gained her confidence back.

Yes. She could go through this. She would make at least one friend.

* * *

Author's Note: This is a rewritten version of chapter one. I changed the setting, because I just found out that Japanese students start their new year during spring after the winter break.

Okay! So that was it for chapter one. I hope you liked it :D I really appreciate you taking time to read this! Much love x

~ Obito-Wan Kenobi


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Hey, everyone! Obito-Wan Kenobi here! I finally managed to upload a new chapter for this fic. Sorry for the wait :D Without further ado, here it is chapter two! Enjoy~

* * *

Chapter Two

Weeks had slowly passed, and Hinata still hadn't made any friends yet. Sure, she talked to her classmates in a very shy manner (nothing more than a nod and one sentence responses), but they usually come to her to ask if there were any assignments to do.

Every day she goes to school and goes back home with Neji by train, and she did her best to conceal her pain and loneliness with a wide smile. She didn't want her cousin to worry about her. However, Neji was no fool. He noticed the lonesome in her eyes whenever she gazed at a group of girls from their school laughing together at the train. He wished he could do something other than smiling kindly at his cousin.

Hinata ate lunch alone in the classroom. She looked around from where she sat and saw a couple of girls sat facing one another and giggled at the latest gossip. They were Haruno-san and her best friend from a different classroom. A group of anime otaku huddled together and talked about anime excitedly as they ate their lunch together.

Her eyes wandered again to the red-haired boy two seats in front of her. His chin was resting on his palm and his eyes were fixed on something outside the window.

_Sabaku-san always looks so lonely,_ she thought to herself as she swallowed her food. _Not to mention, he's often seen alone whenever he's not with his brother. _She looked closer again and noticed that he was listening to music.

Not many people dared to either talk or approach Sabaku-san. Quite a few girls admired and crushed over him because of his mysterious personality, but not a single one of them dared to talk to him. Hinata never saw any girl giving bento to him, though.

She had heard from a group of girls in the hallways that Sabaku-san got himself in a lot of trouble in junior high school. The fact that he got accepted into an elite high school surprised her.

* * *

When Hatake-sensei announced that the whole class was to partner up, Hinata wanted to groan loudly and throw herself out the window. She didn't want people to see that she didn't have a partner. That way, they would think that she was a loner.

She could feel hot tears forming on her waterlines when the whole class got excited and moved closer to one another in order to do the project. Tears threatened to fall, but then she heard a raspy male voice next to her table.

She looked up and saw Sabaku-san standing next to her table.

"Ah, sorry," she wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand before looking up to him again. "Can I help you, Sabaku-san?"

"I suppose you don't have a partner?" he said with a monotone voice.

"No." She shook her head.

"Do you mind if we work together?"

She could feel her cheeks growing warm and her heart beat faster in an ecstatic manner. "Not at all, Sabaku-san!"

For the first time that semester, a real warm smile crept up to her face.

She noticed that he seemed somewhat startled to see her smile. Before she could ask him what was wrong, he spoke to her in a rushed manner.

"Let's work on the project at Starbucks after school. We'll go there together. I'll wait for you near the school gates."

The warmth spread to her ears, and she nervously nodded her head. "O-okay."

He hummed and went back to his seat without giving her a smile. It didn't matter anyway. She felt very happy, excited, and nervous at the same time to working together with Sabaku-san.

"Alright, I want you to summarize half of the first chapter from page one until twenty-five," said Hatake-sensei. "I don't want plain summaries, I want you to be creative with this project. Three groups who make the creative ones will get extra points. I'm giving you two weeks to do this." He chuckled slightly in the end, and Hinata looked at him funny.

Hatake-sensei cleared his throat before speaking again. "Everyone, please open page twenty-seven."

Hinata's heart seemed to stop for a moment when she heard the bell rang. She purposely collected her things slowly while she watched Sabaku-san scrambled quickly out of the classroom with the others.

Despite how happy she was, she was curious why he wanted her to be his partner. She was also curious why he knew her when she wasn't exactly one to "stand out" in the classroom aside from the fact that she gets good grades.

She sighed to herself as she got up from her desk. She overthought too much, and that isn't good for her.

* * *

She was surprised to see Neji waiting for her outside her classroom. She would usually see him outside the school building.

"Hello," he greeted her with a friendly smile.

"Neji-nii-san," she said, "you can go home first. I have something to do with a classmate." Her heart lit up with joy that she could finally say that to him.

One of his eyebrows raised. "A classmate?"

She couldn't hold back her wide smile. "Yes, a classmate."

He pursed his lips together into a smile and let out a hearty chuckle. "Very well then."

He started to walk and she followed behind him like she always did. A wide smile still plastered on her face as her eyes wandered about excitedly while they walked.

"Have fun, Hinata. Don't be out for too long, you still have school tomorrow." Neji said to her by the time they reached the shoes lockers.

"Don't worry, Neji-nii-san!" she said, her eyes twinkled with happiness.

Neji hadn't seen her that happy ever since that day they went to Kyoto during the winter break. He had the urge to pat her head because of how cute she was, but decided against it. He flashed her a smile instead, and said his goodbye.

Hinata walked out of the school gates and found Sabaku-san leaning against the wall with both his hands crossed in front of him.

"I'm sorry, Sabaku-san," she apologized to him. "I must have made you wait."

"Don't worry about it." He said flatly, and then walked away with her following behind him.

She kept her head down while she mentally told herself to relax and breathe. She wanted to speak to him, but she didn't know what.

She opened her mouth, but he interrupted her.

"What's your name?"

She was slightly startled and quite disappointed that he didn't know her name. "Hinata. Hyuuga Hinata."

"Hyuuga Hinata…" he said to himself thoughtfully. "You must be Hyuuga Neji's relative."

"Yes, I am his cousin."

"Ah…" he nodded his head.

Both Hinata and Sabaku-san were silent when they sat down together at Starbucks after ordering their drinks. She had expected that she would be the one to talk a lot since she was very happy and excited, but it turned out that she was as silent as ever because of how nervous she was. Sabaku-san hadn't said a word to her either.

Hinata stared at her history textbook and pretended to read to keep herself from fidgeting her fingers together. She wanted to say something to him—anything!—but words failed to come out of her lips. She couldn't even open her mouth.

"I'll summarize page one until sixteen and you'll do the rest," Sabaku-san said apathetically without glancing up from his book to look at her.

"Okay." She said softly and flipped the pages. She looked up to him and spoke again with a soft voice, "Um, Sabaku-san?"

He looked up from his book and fixed his gaze on her.

"Hatake-sensei told us to be creative and—"

"No." He interrupted her. "We'll just type it."

She blinked a few times. "O-okay."

* * *

Hinata had never felt so relieved in her entire life when she was finally back home. She couldn't stand being with Sabaku-san, who gave her the cold shoulder and answer her with quick short responses.

"_Tadaima_," she whispered to herself. She didn't expect anyone to welcome her back since she lived in a large house.

The warm feeling of relief quickly faded away the moment she said that. Despite how large her house was, it was as cold as a museum. She noticed that it had been that way after her mother passed away shortly after giving birth to Hanabi. Her father refused to look at Hinata for a few years until she was in her first year in junior high school. Neji, who lived under the same roof as they did after his father passed away, gave her the cold shoulder until she was around thirteen years old. Hanabi only came to her if she needed something.

Memories of her mother would usually come back to her like flashes of kaleidoscope that made her heart warm and ache with longing at the same time. She couldn't understand how fond memories could make her feel such sadness as well.

* * *

Author's Note: Thank you for reading! Don't forget to review, if you'd like, and constructive criticisms are very most welcome!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

The following morning, Neji noticed the troubled look on his cousin's face as they walked together to school. She had been rather quiet since the night before when they ate dinner together. She seemed the complete opposite than she was when she told him that she was going to do some work with a classmate.

"Is something troubling you, Hinata?" he asked her.

"It's nothing," she said softly. "Nii-san?"

"Yes?"

"Um…" she twisted her fingers nervously and avoided to meet his gaze. "Do you know anything about Sabaku Gaara-san?"

He looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "Why do you ask, Hinata?"

"I-I'm just curious," she said softly, her cheeks slightly reddened.

He looked up into the sky and released a sigh through his nose. "I don't know much about him, but I do know that he and Sabaku-senpai are one of the school chairmen's sons, which somehow explains how he got accepted into the school."

"Oh…" she said. "Anything else?"

"That's all I know about him," he said. "He's your classmate, isn't he?"

She nodded her head slowly.

"I advise you to stay away from him, Hinata. I heard he caused a lot of trouble in junior high school." He said.

She glanced at him. "What kind of trouble?"

He looked at her and noticed the worried look in her doe eyes. "I'm not entirely sure, Hinata, but just stay away from him."

She slowly shifted her gaze from him and said very softly, "Okay."

* * *

The following days, Hinata spent her hours after school in her room working on their assignment. Sabaku-san had given her his part of the assignment and apologized to her that he couldn't help her with the rest. She doubted him at first, thinking that he was just too lazy to help her and that he was using her, but from the fixed gaze he had, he was honest. Not a trace of doubt crossed her mind ever again afterwards.

She was still bothered by curiosity of the things he did during junior high school that gave him the reputation of being dangerous and frightening. She wanted to know very badly, but she couldn't just ask him. That would be impolite, and he might hate her for it.

During the weekend, Hinata often visited the bookstore in Shibuya just to clear her head from feeling restless and burdened with curiosity. She felt more at peace when she's surrounded by books, mainly in the Fiction section.

She felt more reserved by the time she went back to school on Monday. She gave Sabaku-san a shy smile and softly greeted him good morning as she made her way to her desk. Just after she settled down, he approached her and stood next to her table.

"Are you done with it?" he asked with a bland yet affable manner.

"Yes."

"Did you bring it?" he asked again.

She opened her bag and gave him their assignment. He flipped through the pages with an impassive expression before giving it back to her.

"We'll submit it to Hatake-sensei during the first break," he said before he went back to his desk.

"Okay…" her voice softened into a whisper.

She felt stupid. She wanted to sink her nails into her skull for responding to him with one sentence all the time. She felt so stupid and utterly troubled for being painfully shy.

When the school bell rang for the first break, Sabaku-san called for her from the doorway and all she could do was stutter an "Okay" before she got up and walked towards him with their assignment in her hand.

Hinata walked behind him and kept her head down. She never felt confident whenever she walked down the school hallway. There were just too many people, and she didn't want them to look at her with their frightening judgmental eyes. She didn't want to hear them whispering about her and Neji for being _arrogant Hyugas_. She felt less confident now that she was following Sabaku-san. Everyone looked at them with frightened and confused looks on their faces. She wanted to shield herself from their whisperings and wanted to disappear before their very eyes and never return.

"Hey," Sabaku-san said and she glanced up, "just keep walking, okay?"

Blinking several times, she answered, "Okay."

She let out a quiet relieved sigh when they had arrived at the teachers' office. Hatake-sensei was nowhere to be found, and so they just put their work on his desk.

"You seemed very uncomfortable just a moment ago," Sabaku-san said to her when they got out of the teachers' office.

"I did?" she asked, surprised.

He seemed surprised to see her surprised.

"Yes."

She blushed and shyly looked away.

"Are you scared of being near me?" he asked apathetically.

She shot her head up and glanced at him. "N-no, it's not that!"

"Well?" he raised an eyebrow.

She felt the warmth spreading to her ears, and once again she looked away. She was struggling to keep herself from stuttering and crying at the same time.

"I…" her voice trembled. She was afraid if she told him what her problem was, he might laugh at her and think that she's weird. The last thing she wanted to hear was a mocking laugh coming from someone after she told him her problem.

"I'm…scared of people." She continued despite her fears.

She was prepared to be laughed at. She was prepared for the mean words that would come out of his mouth. However, no matter how prepared she was, she felt the hot tears forming on her eyes.

"Then you're scared of me." He said.

"No!" the heat spread to the top of her head. "I'm just…I'm just…" She took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm painfully shy."

He looked at her without any trace of expressions on his face. She was puzzled. Was he judging her? Was he silently laughing at her? Did he think she's weird? So many questions crowded her mind, yet she couldn't tell any of them.

He averted his gaze from her to the hallway, and said, "Let's go."

* * *

Gaara was at the rooftop of the school building smoking his final cigarette before stopping for good. He watched the smoke gracefully dance into the cloudy sky, becoming one with the air that he breathed. His cigarette dangled lazily between his two fingers before he put it between his lips and took a drag.

His mind drifted back at her flushed face and her tear-covered eyes. She was so fragile although he didn't say anything harmful to her. She was painfully shy that she nearly broke down in tears because of one harmless question.

He sighed. He couldn't put a finger why she was scared of people. No, she seemed to be terrified of them. Throughout his life so far, he had learned how to make people fear him, and he wanted that to stop. If Hinata really was scared of him, he would tell her that he's now a different person. If she didn't believe him, it would be best for her to stay away from him.

He chose her to be his partner, because she was so quiet unlike the other girls and she seemed terribly lonely in class. He had been taking notice of her when he saw her silently crying on the fourth day as a sophomore. He wanted to comfort her, but he thought it was best if he left her alone.

The school bell rang for dismissal. The dismal vibe that surrounded the building seemed to be lifted away and a positive one radiated from it.

He bit the cigarette butt between his teeth as he searched for his phone in his pockets to tell Kankuro to meet him in the rooftop with his stuff.

He put his phone back in his pocket and then looked down to see students scramble their way out of the building. The girls were the loudest to come out, without a doubt.

He felt his chest tightened when he spotted her walking side by side with a boy. That boy was probably her cousin, Hyuga Neji. She was always seen with him, and he often heard jealous and intimidated students talk in hushed voices about the two cousins.

Something inside him wished that she would turn around and look up to see him leaning against the rooftop railing. When she did, she would notice it was him standing there. She would smile to herself and raise her delicate hand to wave him goodbye.

He scoffed a laugh. It was funny that he was hoping for something as silly as that.

* * *

Author's Note: I've been very good at updating lately, haven't I? Thank you for reading, and don't forget to review, if you'd like! Any kinds of reviews are very most welcome. I'll see you again very soon!


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Hi, everyone! I just got back from my vacation, which explains why I haven't updated in a while. Sorry about that. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and also a happy new year! Without further ado, chapter four!

* * *

Chapter Four

Gaara lay very still on his bed with his piercing gaze fixed on the ceiling. His breathing was much lighter than before. He had succeeded in calming himself from another nightmare. He shifted his gaze towards the clock on his bedside table. It was three past twenty minutes. He wasn't sure how long he slept—an hour or less, perhaps?

He ran his fingers through his messy hair and sank them to let out his frustration. He wished he could rip his head apart if that meant he could finally sleep.

He jumped out of his bed and desperately searched his room, hoping that he would find at least one cigarette. Without any success, he gave up and sat down on the edge of his bed with his face buried on his palms. Failing to find a cigarette, made him feel hard to breathe, as if there was a weight on his chest. He gritted his teeth together, angry at himself that was allowing himself to continuously think about his nightmare.

* * *

He was walking down the path on a mountain when he heard the sound of someone slipping and fell hard against the ground. He quickly turned around to see Hinata on the ground struggling to get up. He immediately rushed to her side and helped her stand.

"Are you okay?" he asked, unusually sounding very concerned.

She looked at him with that small shy smile she often flashed to everyone. "I'm fine," she said softly. "Thank you, Sabaku-san." Her smile faded quicker than usual.

She slightly bent and wiped away the dirt from her knees with her fingertips. She was wearing her school uniform, but her skirt seemed shorter than the usual one she often wore, exposing her porcelain skin more. Her legs seemed so smooth, he was tempted to touch her.

"Can you walk?" he asked her, looking from her scraped her knees and then her face.

"I think so," she said, and then flashed him another shy yet assuring smile. "Don't worry."

He frowned and then continued to walk down the path with her following behind him. They were surrounded by tall and dense trees. The forest was so dense that it was impossible for the sunlight to shine through.

Neither of them said a word nor made a sound except for their soft breathing and footsteps. He would look up once in a while to see the long branches and leaves cover the sky. He heard birds chirping, but after walking for some time, all he could hear—aside from his and Hinata's footsteps—was the sound of silence. It was hollow and daunting, making him feel uneasy.

"Hey, what are you doing here anyway?" he finally asked.

He wasn't given any answer from her after he started to speak. It was odd. She usually would respond to him almost immediately after he says something. He could still hear the sound of her light footsteps. He was overwhelmed with bugging curiosity and anger. He didn't like being ignored at all.

He glanced behind his back over his shoulder, but he didn't see Hinata walking behind him. He stopped dead on his tracks, bewildered. He heard her footsteps just a moment ago, but why wasn't she there?

The fear of being alone and abandoned crept up to him as if it had been waiting all that time. It crept up faster than the feeling of his curiosity and anger. His chest felt overwhelmingly heavy, and his head spun.

"Hey! Hinata!"

His desperate cry echoed through the woods. His heartbeat pounded in his ears. He cried out for her again, but she didn't answer.

Without thinking for another second, he went off the path and desperately searched for his quiet companion. He called her name over and over as he ran through the woods without stopping despite how heavy his legs felt. His lungs felt like it was on fire as he panted and loudly called for her.

He finally found her on a bubbly brook far from the path that led up to the mountain. Her pale face was above the cool water, her eyes wide opened and lips slightly parted. Blood streamed from her forehead down to the side of her head and on to the water. She looked so peaceful, yet terrified at the same time.

He didn't realize that he was crying.

* * *

Gaara made no effort to talk to her now that they were done with their work. Hinata felt somehow lonely now that they didn't talk as often as they used to. She often wondered why he stopped talking to her, but the answers her mind usually came up with brought her down.

She always saw him on his desk listening to music during breaks, and sometimes he wasn't present during certain class subjects. She often wondered where he went to and what he did. She would occasionally muse to herself how nice it would be to skip a class once in a while without worrying over her father yelling at her.

She finally had the opportunity to skip a class one day. It was art class, the last one for the day. She tried her best to lie to her teacher without feeling guilty, saying that she wasn't feeling well and wanted to rest in the health center. She was allowed to go so easily that it surprised her.

Her heart beat enthusiastically when she closed the door after stepping out of the classroom. A smile graced her lips, and she wondered where to go best. She decided to go to the rooftop even though it was off-limits for students. She didn't care. She wanted to lie and break the rules once in a while in order to keep herself sane.

To her surprise, the door at the top of the staircase that led to the rooftop wasn't locked. When she opened it, she saw someone leaning against the railing with his back facing to her. His red hair shined below the sun and swayed away from the direction of the wind. She closed the door and approached him.

"So this is where you like to go, Sabaku-san?" she asked him and placed her palms on the railing.

He didn't turn his head to look at her. He only gave a short murmur, "Hm."

She looked at the view of the school's wide courtyard and intimidatingly prestigious gate. The courtyard seemed wider and more spacious from above. She was mostly amazed by the view of the buildings cramped up together, and the faint groaning sounds of cars.

Gaara noticed her amazement when he secretly glanced at her from the corner of his eyes and saw her mouth open with her twinkling gaze fixed on the view of the city.

"Tokyo looks cramped from here, don't you think?" he remarked.

"But it's still a lovely city. Full of excitement." She said.

"I guess so." He sighed, scratching the back of his head.

Silence engulfed them like the vast ocean before he turned his head to look at her and asked, "What are you doing here?"

He sounded annoyed, but Hinata tried to ignore his tone.

"I've never skipped a class before." She said, looking straight ahead at the view of the city. "This is my first time."

"No kidding."

"I enjoy art class. I r-really do." She bit her trembling lip. She mentally cursed herself for slightly stuttering. She took deep breaths before speaking again. "But I prefer to appreciate it rather than creating one. What about you, Sabaku-san?"

"Me too."

She pursed her lips together. She felt that she was annoying him—disturbing him from his time alone. All of a sudden, she felt terrible. The feeling of it struck her so quickly like lightning. She backed away from the railing and looked down at the floor. She blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall.

"Forgive me, Sabaku-san, for disturbing you," she said each word very carefully as if she was afraid that he would strike her. "I think it's best for me to leave now."

"No." He said firmly.

Her head shot up in surprise. "What?"

Hinata was puzzled. He sounded annoyed when she tried to talk to him; making her think that he didn't want her there, and then he told her to stay. It didn't sound like a request. It sounded more like an order—a shy desperate order to keep him company.

She wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand before standing next to him and then placing her palms on the railing once again. Neither of them said a word. They listened to the sound of the blowing wind instead of speaking to one another. They both seemed to enjoy the comforting sound of the wind, so neither of them bothered to say anything.

"I'm sorry," he finally said. "I don't know how to make friends."

She looked at him. His face was serious, and his gaze was fixed on the view ahead of him. She noticed the dark color around his eyes, and how tired he looked despite his handsome facial features.

"That's okay," she smiled shyly. She blushed. "I don't know how to make friends either."

The corner of his lips lifted into a small smile. "I've always thought that girls are great at making friends."

She chuckled heartily, covering her mouth with her fingers. "Unfortunately, no."

He turned his head and looked at her. She felt her already blushing cheeks grew even redder, and she quickly looked away in embarrassment. He chuckled quietly and she glanced back at him.

"What's wrong?"

"You're pretty odd," he said with a smile. "But that's okay. I like that kind of people. It makes everything more interesting when you're with them, I should think."

She shyly flashed him a smile that warmed his heart.

"Thank you, Sabaku-san."

"Gaara is fine."

She softly chuckled, clutching her hands in front of her. "Okay."

They stayed there standing next to each other in comfortable silence, gazing at the view until the school bell rang for dismissal.

"I better go now," she said to him softly, gazing at him. "Nii-san might come looking for me."

He nodded his head. "Right."

"I'll see you again tomorrow, Saba—Gaara-kun," her voice softened when she said his honorific. He didn't seem to mind.

He nodded his head again. "See you."

She quickly walked away from his down to the art classroom to pick up her stuff. When she walked out of the classroom, she found Neji waiting outside as faithful as always like a dog. He straightened himself when he saw her come out of the classroom, and gave her a warm smile.

"Hello, nii-san," she greeted him warmly.

"How's your day?" he asked.

"Fine, thank you. How was yours?"

"Very nice."

They walked together out of the building after changing their shoes. As usual, Hinata walked behind her cousin with her gaze fixed on his back, avoiding meeting other people's terrifying eyes.

By the time she arrived home, she lay on her bed with her gaze concentrated on the ceiling and thought about Gaara.

There was something cold about him when she first spoke to him. His gaze was sharp and it slightly frightened her whenever she looked at him at first. But now she felt that the tall unbreakable wall, which surrounded him, was slowly breaking. She was certain that it must have been rather hard for him to tell her to stay earlier that day. He never showed his true feelings to her and everybody else, for that matter. But when he smiled—even just a little—her heart was overwhelmed with gladness. His smile was charming, yet slightly forced. She could understand. After all, he always kept a straight face.

_Gaara-kun should smile more often, _she thought to herself with a small smile adorning her face.


End file.
